Republican sweep

The supermajority of the Chautauqua County Legislature will be Republican as of Jan. 1, while four Democrat incumbents are on their way out.

In the new legislature, 13 of 19 legislators are Republican.

“We gained a couple of seats which is very important,” said Allan Hendrickson, chairman of the Chautauqua County Republican Committee.

“We’ll be able to do things we weren’t able to do before,” Hendrickson said, referring to the economy of the county and “expansion of what we have.”

“We do what we can for the people we have here,” he said.

Furthermore, the outcome of the election could significantly affect the future of the Chautauqua County Home and the possibility of it being sold to a private buyer.

“In my opinion, the election was a referendum on the county home,” state Assemblyman Andy Goodell said. He explained that with the privatization of the skilled nursing facility, money could be used to keep future taxes down.

“The public overwhelmingly said they wanted a smaller government, lower taxes and more jobs,” Goodell said.

With the supermajority of the new legislature Republican, it appears the home could certainly be sold.

Democrats Robert Whitney, Thomas DeJoe, William Coughlin and Thomas Erlandson lost in Tuesday’s elections.